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Chicago Tribune: US funds research to reduce use of pesticides harmful to bees

Chicago Tribune: US funds research to reduce use of pesticides harmful to bees

January 8, 2014

Jan 8 (Reuters) - The United States said it will fund morethan $450,000 in research projects to reduce the use ofpesticides that may harm honey bees, crucial in the pollinationof many key U.S. crops.

A total of $459,264 will be divided among Louisiana StateUniversity, Penn State University and the University of Vermontto develop practices that reduce the use of potentially harmfulpesticides, the Environmental Protection Agency said in astatement Wednesday.

Over the past few years, bee populations have been dying ata rate the U.S. government says is unsustainable. Honey beespollinate plants that produce about a quarter of the foodconsumed by Americans, including apples, almonds, watermelonsand beans, according to government reports.

Scientists, consumer groups and bee keepers say thedevastating rate of bee deaths is due to the growing use ofpesticides, sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields ofstaple crops such as corn.

However, Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayerand other agrichemical companies say the bees arebeing killed by other factors, such as mites.

The Louisiana State University project is focused onminimizing the impact to bees from insecticides used formosquito control.

The University of Vermont project focuses on reducingpesticide use and improving pest control while increasing cropyields on 75 acres of hops in the Northeast. The project's goalis to reduce herbicide and fungicide applications by 50 percentwhile decreasing downy mildew, a plant disease.

And the Pennsylvania State University project is exploringthe benefits of growing crops without relying on neonicotinoidpesticide seed treatments. The so-called 'neonics' are a chiefsuspect in honey bee deaths.

"Protection of bee populations is among EPA's toppriorities," the agency said.

The EPA said bee populations were also being hurt byparasites, disease and poor nutrition.

The agency has been working with bee keepers, growers,pesticide manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture andstates to try to combat pesticide exposure to bees.